My Own Life
by Glorioux
Summary: Hermione is back for her seventh year at Hogwarts. Life has changed much, her parents are dead, and she has found she has a family, not entirely to her liking. And to top it all, Ron has decided that the grass is greener elsewhere. In her sorrow, she will discover that she has many gifts, and she is no alone. A prequel and Written for the Quidditch League Competition. One shot.


Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition

The prompt: A song sang by Lisa Hale.

There's a little secret

I would like to tell you

There's a book of lies

I know they'll try to sell you

And they'll try, and they'll try

To convince you to buy you need them

So the next time you're down

Look inside not around.

I can bless myself

There's no need for someone's help

There's no one to blame

There's no one to save you but yourself

I can justify all the mistakes in my life

It's taught me to be, it's giving me

And I'll survive

'Cause I have blessed myself.

_**Bless myself – Lisa Hale  
**_

_**Making my own life. A Prequel_  
**_

Nothing had changed, the war was over, and his life was still a mess.

And if he thought it about carefully enough, he would see that it was up to him to get what he wanted, because nobody else was going to do it for him.

The first thing he should do would be to get a piece of scroll and write his objectives, he needed to take the proverbial bull by the horns.

He sat at his desk and started to write. In two hours he had written one line; that was not good, and it was time for Quidditch practice.

He dressed with the proper attire and around 9:00 PM was finally back in his room.

Once again, he sat in front of the scroll and tried again. This time he came up with three goals, and the more than he read them, the more sense they made. He put the scroll, away, wrote an Owl to send in the morning, and got ready for bed.

**1998-1999 Hogwarts**

Students were coming back from the Christmas holidays, already used the rubble and the reconstruction mess. Many were happy and talking about their holidays but many long faces were amongst the crowd.

Hermione was quite and reserved, her search for her parents had broken her up. They had never left England; Death Eaters had killed them on their way to Heathrow. Their bodies had lay in a Morgue until her uncle had recognized them. An uncle she didn't even know existed. She had not yet talked to Harry or Ron; both had gone with a group to walk the Himalayas, an old dream of Sirius Black.

She felt a tug of her braid, and turned around, "Harry, Harry, so good to see you." He held her tight, and she noticed how sad he looked.

"Where is Ron? He didn't owl once," she sighed defeated.

"Err, he is not coming back." He looked away from Hermione.

"What do you mean, he really needs to finish this year." Her heart beeped disorderly, and her stomach hurt. She wasn't in the mood for more bad news, not one more.

"He accepted a place to play professional Quidditch in Australia. He met the daughter of a team owner, and they got engaged." There, he had said, and he didn't feel better.

Her lip quivered, no tears, no more crying. "Ah, I see." That was all she said about Ron, "My parents are dead." Her voice was flat.

He held her tighter, "I am so very sorry, why didn't you owl?" he asked puzzled. He felt her cold trembling body and patted her back.

"I told Ron when I found out, I asked him to tell you, I found out two days after you were gone." Tears ran down her cheeks.

"Hermione, " someone was touching her shoulder. Harry looked, someone he didn't know, maybe a fifth class, then a second one came, a twin from the looks.

"Ah, is you," Hermione answered

The new comers inspected Harry with suspicion. "Potter, you are Harry Potter, " the wizard said.

"Are you making her cry, some friend you are, you didn't even come when she sent the news of her parents dead?" The witch, who looked an awful lot like Hermione, asked and stared him right on the eye.

"I wasn't making her cry, who are you." Harry was upset, "are you related?"

"Yes, we are, her cousins. Came back from Australia, my parents went there after the first war. Hermione's father was my uncle; a curse damaged his magic core, and he married a friend of the family a Squib, Juniper Applebee a sister of my mother, we are twice related. I am Desdemona Dagworth-Granger, and he is Winslow Dagwort- Granger."

Winslow would not even speak to Harry. The tall, lanky wizard didn't like Harry, and that was plain.

He had arrived a half day late and had missed the sorting of the new students, he noticed the witch was a Slytherin, and Winslow was a Ravenclaw.

Hermione just listened; her voice was gone, what had happened to her? Ron, after waiting for him for years, he had gone to the first good thing. Her parents gone, and she didn't like her cousins and her uncles and aunts. They all saw her as a traitor, just as her father had been. It had taken them years tracking him, and had found Hermione the first time she was in the Prophet, or they were almost sure it was she.

They had found him by mere luck, someone who worked at the morgue, had a son who was a wizard and worked for the family. He had recognized the pictures. Further checking had found their suitcases at the airlines deposits, by a hired Muggle firm.

They waited for her at the train station, and after she said goodbye to Ron and Harry, she had been with them.

"Hermione, you don't have to stay with them, come to Grimmauld 12, and you can stay with me. " He tried to speak softly.

Horatio pushed his arm, "You are not taking her anywhere, and she is with us." Ah, he talked and wasn't too nice.

"I talk to my friend whenever I want to. " Harry said.

"Harry, Harry," it was Ginny.

Ginny ran to them, and when she saw Hermione she halted. "Harry, we are having practice, are you coming? We have a new coach, you will be surprised."

"Ginny, these are Hermione's cousins, Desdemona and Winslow, they are in fifth class."

He was interrupted, "Sixth Class, "Desdemona eyed Ginny with distrust.

"Cousins?" Ginny snorted, they appeared to be snobs.

Harry told her what he knew while the cousins, grabbed Hermione by her arm and took her away.

"You shouldn't be with that Ginny Weasley, my parents think the are rubbish. She is the sister of Ronald, a fine friend he is." Winslow told her. "Dad said to keep you away from them, you are too good for them. You don't need them, you have us."

_Do I, do I have anyone? Look at Harry, walking all chummy with Ginny, totally forgot about me. Ron went for the first witch who could offer him more, and I don't even have my parents. And where was Harry when I needed him, and did Ron come running, no he left me. _A tear of bitterness ran down her cheek.

_My cousins are a pain, but they are trying, what am I going to do? _ More tears ran down her face.

Desdemona held her hand tight. "Don't cry, we don't cry in front of others. My grandmother, your mother's mother, always said that we make our own futures, that good friends can be counted in your right hand's fingers, and we make our own blessing and luck. All you need is the love of a few friends and your family, and you have us." Desdemona kissed her cheek, and Winslow squeezed her hand.

What her cousin said made sense. It was all too new, but she wasn't alone, for the first time ever she had cousins, uncles and aunts. Maybe, they were Purebloods, maybe not ideal, but she wasn't alone, and she had never been a quitter.

"Perhaps, you are right, it just hurts. " Hermione answered.

"Is that Harry's girlfriend?" Desdemona asked. "He could do much better than that."

"Could he, aha, " Winslow answered and Desdemona blushed. Hermione looked at her cousin and smiled.

"Yeah, he could, I think he could."

That day when she was coming back from the library, she heard a voice calling her.

"Hermione Granger, hello, stop there." Someone was calling her, and she tried to place the voice.

She turned around and saw Adrian Pucey, the tall and handsome Slytherin. What was he doing at Hogwarts?

"Hermione, Winslow told me the news. Congratulations, they are a very good family." His face was animated, and Hermione realized how handsome he was.

"Ah, yes, that is right." She answered a bit put out. When she was just Hermione Granger, the Slytherins were too good to talk to her, but wow, he was a beautiful wizard.

"Where is Weasley, I heard you two were getting engaged." He asked.

"Ah, err, he is not coming back. " And she told him a short version of Ron's decision.

"His loss and many lucky wizards gain, I hope to be included on that." He chuckled and smiled.

"Are you flirting with me? And what are you doing here?" She asked again.

"I am working here, for one semester. Last year, after the war ended, I felt lost. Didn't know where I was going, and was confused after my cousin Vince died. I felt like a loser. My parents are rich, and even I didn't take the Dark Mark, I didn't disagree with their teachings. So I decided to come back and helped with the reconstruction effort, and in the meantime helped with the Potions lab, and with the Quidditch instruction."

"That sounds interesting." Hermione said, he sounded so different.

"Listen, I am glad that I saw you, there is a dance at the Flint's this weekend, do you want to come. You could invite Potter along if you want to. Your cousins are also welcome."

"Maybe, I will ask."

Several months passed, and Hermione studied hard, made some new friends, and spent more time with her cousins. Harry told her. "I am not rushing to marry, I am too young. Ginny wanted to marry this year, and I told her no way. By the way, I have been invited to your family's summer home. I have accepted to come for two weeks."

"Have you? Don't play with Desdemona, she is my cousin, and you are with Ginny." Hermione was unhappy with the turn of events.

"No, I am not, Ginny is seeing Dean Thomas again, on and off, and has gone out with Neville. We are young, and want to meet a few people. You and Adrian are seeing each other? I heard you went out with Oliver Wood."

Hermione laughed, "I am young as well, who knows what the future will bring. I am relying on myself this time, and making my choices. I like Adrian, he is fun, and who knows, but I am not making any commitments. Not now and not for a while."

"Yes, I agree. See you," he saw Desdemona and ran after her, and before they turned a corner, she saw Harry leaning and kissing her cheek and wrapping his arm around her waist. So much for just a friend, well they knew what they were doing, Desdemona had turned seventeen a few days before.

She needed to go to the library and before she went far, "Ron, what are you doing here?" He had gotten taller and broader.

"Hermione, we need to talk." Were the first words out his mouth?

"I don't think so, I am late for a date." She lied.

He grabbed her arm, "It won't take long, and I made a mistake."

Hermione felt sick, from the corner of her eye she saw Winslow, reading a book while he walked, nothing unusual.

Ron pulled harder, "Come with me, I am in trouble." He pleaded.

"Not my problem." She answered.

"I don't like America, I want to come back. If you we tell them you got pregnant, and I must marry you, I can get out the contract."

"You haven't seen me five minutes, and you are proposing me to lie?"

"You know I am the best for you. Do it for me, " his voice was full of himself.

"No, I will. And you are not the best, not even a good friend. I do things that are good for me." Her voice was quivering, and she was trying hard not to cry.

An arm went around her waist and before she could react, Adrian's lips had closed over hers. His kiss was sweet, and made her warm.

"Hello darling," he kissed her brow, "Sorry, I am late. Ah Ron, hello there, good to see you." Adrian stretched his hand to greet him.

Ron huffed and turned around, "You didn't waste anytime, did you. A Slytherin, what a slag you—"

Before he could say anymore a fist closed his mouth, Winslow stood there shaking his wrist. "Ouch that hurt." He said.

Hermione turned to Adrian and whispered. "Not an ideal place for a first kiss, but thanks for the help."

"It wasn't help, I meant it. I hope we can become more than friends, " he moved a stray curl away from her face and tucked it behind an ear. He leaned and kissed her near the mouth.

"Less kissing, " Winslow chuckled, "I am young and impressionable. But I hope it showed the fool what he had lost." And Winslow punched Adrian playfully in the upper arm.

Harry and Desdemona were running towards them, "Hermione, we just saw Ron, " Harry was laughing, "He wasn't happy." He added.

"I was happy." Hermione answered, "I am blessed, and lucky to have good friends and family.

And at that moment Hermione understood that life goes on, and we need to learn to live our lives knowing that we can always count on ourselves and all other things will fall in place. She had been gifted with strong magic, brains, a few friends, and even a family.

**Epilogue**

When they were alone, Adrian gave her a scroll; "I wrote three objectives after the war, I have met two. I wanted to share them with you. " He smiled and looked at her carefully.

She read them and blushed. "When did you start liking me?"

"I fell for you at the Battle, you looked magnificent, a fierce lioness, full of fire and conviction. I prayed to survive, you know that I only came to make sure none of the small children were hurt, and I had to pick up the charred remains of Vince. However, when I saw you, I knew whoever had somebody like you in their lives, would be blessed by all the deities. Can you read my goals aloud?"

Hermione read, "1. Find a job in Hogwarts to be close to Hermione Granger 2. Take her away from Ronald Wesley. 3. Convince her to marry me." Her voice quivered, "Number two wasn't your doing, Ron did that on his own. " She had blushed, and her tongue felt heavy.

"True, true, but he came back, and you turned him away. Perhaps, I have influenced your decision; I hope so. I don't like you; I love you. I know is soon, and you want to study more, I don't mind" He held her hand to his mouth, and a chill ran down her back, he leaned over and gently kissed her lips. "I do love you." He sighed.

She leaned her head on his chest, and he held her close to him.

"Do I have any chances?" Adrian whispered.

"I think you do. I am pretty sure you do. There is time, I want to learn to stand on my own first, but your goals and mine are not mutually exclusive." She looked at him.

"Are you saying that you will marry me?"

"Adrian, you have not even proposed, and your scroll was just a list of what you hoped to achieve." Her face was redder by the minute. She wanted to be properly courted, proposed, and loved. This time she wanted it all.

"Point duly taken, I guess we will have to make it official, I see it, a big engagement party, I will ask your uncle—"

Hermione paled, maybe it was time to be flexible; ugh, oh, well, life was long, and she was learning to control her own life, or was it to learn how to control the outcome; hmm, something like that.

The end- It stands alone. The actual story will be added in the near future.

* * *

A/N This story is an actual prequel to a story deleted during a purge. I changed a couple of facts in this story, but will continue the story with the altered facts when I complete a couple of stories.


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